Real Estate From The Trenches

Why the Compass vs. Zillow Lawsuit May Reshape Real Estate’s Digital Future

June 25, 2025

The Compass antitrust lawsuit against Zillow is heating up, and Greg Hague’s latest analysis puts an even sharper point on what’s at stake. I covered the legal filing last week, but Hague’s breakdown highlights just how transformative this case could be for the real estate industry. He’s right: this isn’t just about listing policies or portal preferences. It’s a fight over who controls the digital front door to homebuying—and whether innovation in marketing strategies gets crushed under the weight of a near-monopoly.

What Zillow calls a policy change for transparency, Hague frames as textbook exclusionary conduct. And it’s hard to argue with that lens when you consider the timing: Compass gains traction with its Private Exclusives and extended pre-MLS marketing, NAR adjusts the Clear Cooperation Policy to allow more flexibility, and suddenly Zillow drops a 24-hour rule that effectively bans listings that don’t play by its rules. It’s not about fairness to buyers; it’s about eliminating options that threaten Zillow’s lead-gen machine. The permanent nature of the ban, coupled with Zillow’s platform dominance, underscores the concern.

Private Listings: A Risky Move as Buyer Demand Shifts

June 17, 2025

Private Listings - Hidden from the Market

As the real estate market tips slowly toward a buyer’s market, it’s time for a serious gut-check on the rise of private or “exclusive” listings. Damian Eales, CEO of Realtor.com, hit this issue head-on in an Op-Ed yesterday, calling out what he sees as a growing and dangerous trend: the quiet erosion of transparency and competition in the U.S. housing market.

According to Eales, “Selling a secret is no way to start a bidding war and will surely result in shortchanged sellers.” I have to agree. The data doesn’t lie—more eyeballs mean more competition, and more competition typically means better offers.

NAR Revises Controversial Speech Rule: Should REALTORS® Punished Before Now Receive Justice?

June 12, 2025

Rob Hahn recently ignited an important conversation about the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) decision to significantly modify Standard of Practice 10-5, a rule initially established to prevent harassment based on protected characteristics. While NAR’s move to restrict 10-5’s scope solely to REALTORS’ professional activities has been welcomed as a step toward safeguarding free speech, Hahn highlights another critical dimension needing attention: restitution for those previously penalized under its broader interpretation.

According to Hahn, now that NAR acknowledges the overreach of the initial rule, it owes apologies and possibly reparations to REALTORS previously sanctioned under it. As Hahn emphasizes, individuals like Brandon Huber, Wilson Fauber, Chad DeVries, and Jamie Haynes faced serious professional and personal repercussions for actions now clearly outside the revised scope of harassment. These repercussions included damaged reputations, career setbacks, and financial losses from legal defenses. Hahn calls for immediate revocation of any sanctions, restoration of membership, and financial reparations to make these individuals whole.

Organized Real Estate Under Fire: A Wake-Up Call from the Inside

June 12, 2025

Over the years, I’ve watched this industry change in a lot of ways—but I’ve rarely seen a company founder publicly challenge the power structures of organized real estate quite like Robert Reffkin did last week during Compass’s retreat in Denver. His keynote speech, aimed at Compass agents, was less about motivation and more of a pointed indictment of NAR, MLSs, and portals like Zillow. Whether you agree with him or not, he raised some serious questions that the broader real estate world can’t ignore.

Reffkin framed the issue as “choice versus control,” painting organized real estate as a system designed not to protect consumers, but to maintain control over listing data and membership dues. He made the case that MLSs and trade associations—backed by $2B in annual agent dues and $86M in lobbying spend—have gone well beyond their original missions. He described Clear Cooperation rules as less about collaboration and more about squashing alternative listing platforms, especially those that allow for strategic pre-market exposure or “private exclusives” that don’t route through the usual channels.

MLS Subscribers Surge Past Realtors as Access Models Shift

June 11, 2025

Number of MLS members vs Realtor Members

The MLS is Growing, But Not the Way You Might Think

The structure of organized real estate in the U.S. is undergoing a quiet but meaningful transformation, and for agents and brokers navigating multiple markets, the implications are real.

Investors Unload Record Number of Homes as Market Pressures Mount

June 10, 2025

Investors Selling off Record number of homes

Real estate investors sold nearly 11% of all homes nationwide in 2024—the highest share in over two decades of tracking, according to Realtor.com’s latest investor report. That figure represents over 500,000 homes sold by investors last year alone. But unlike the investor selloffs we saw during the housing boom, this time it’s not about taking profits—it’s about stopping the bleeding. With rental prices cooling and returns tightening, investors are repositioning fast.

The shift is visible in the numbers. While investor buying slowed slightly compared to 2021 and 2022, the drop in sales volumes didn’t mirror that pace. Instead, more investors decided to exit, particularly in states where home values have flattened or rent growth has stalled. The map below tells the story—investors are still net buyers in most states, but the gap between what they’re buying and what they’re offloading has narrowed significantly.

Revisiting Subagency: A Hard Look at Real Representation in Real Estate

June 5, 2025

Maybe Subagency Isn’t So Crazy After All

So… Rob Hahn stirred the pot again. In his recent piece, A Modest Proposal: Bring Back Subagency, Rob suggests we ditch buyer agency and go back to the “good old days” where everyone worked for the seller—and he makes the case better than I expected.

Free Speech Concerns Addressed as NAR Finalizes SOP 10-5 Revisions

June 5, 2025

NAR Changes 10-5 to allow freedom of speech

Just days after I wrote about the controversy surrounding NAR’s Standard of Practice 10-5 (SOP 10-5), the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors has officially ratified changes to the standard. As expected, the updates focus on clarifying the definition of “harassment” and narrowing its scope to only apply when REALTORS® are acting in a professional capacity.

This morning’s move at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings in Chicago formalizes the proposed revisions that had been in the works since 2023. According to NAR President Kevin Sears, the aim is to better align Article 10 of the Code of Ethics with similar standards used by other large trade associations, while also easing enforcement for state and local associations.

Redfin Shareholders Say Yes to Rocket Deal—Industry Shakeup Ahead?

June 5, 2025

Rocket Mortgage - Redfin Acquisition Approved by Shareholders

If the preliminary vote tallies hold, Redfin shareholders just gave Rocket Companies the green light to buy them out for $1.75 billion. That vote took place yesterday, June 4, during a special meeting that followed some last-minute legal fireworks and a bit of political heat. Assuming everything stays on track, the deal will close before the end of June.

For those who haven’t been tracking it closely, this merger means Rocket, best known for Rocket Mortgage, is about to add a national real estate brokerage, tech platform, and salaried-agent workforce to its portfolio. It also means Redfin, which hasn’t had a profitable year in nearly two decades, gets absorbed into a company with the budget and appetite to scale their model nationwide.

$16 for $11,000 in Commissions? New Court Brief Blasts Real Estate Settlement

May 30, 2025

Monestier Appellant Court Briefing could cause collapse of NAR Sitzer Settlement

Law professor and home seller Tanya Monestier has filed an appeal to overturn the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit settlement. She argues the deal gives sellers almost nothing—about 0.1% of their damages—while leaving the commission system largely intact. If the court agrees, the entire $1.8 billion+ settlement could be thrown out, reopening the litigation and undoing all the current rule changes. Her brief is below for anyone who wants to dig into the details.

When Tanya Monestier first objected to the Sitzer/Burnett settlement last fall, I wrote that her critique exposed the uncomfortable truth: this deal might look good on paper, but in practice, it’s left most sellers just as stuck in the old system as before. Now, she’s doubled down with a formal brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit—and she’s aiming not just to revise the settlement, but to throw it out entirely.